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Journalism of Courage
Some 100,000 women joined a protest against Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi,accusing him of offending women,the daily La Repubblica reported on Wednesday.
The women signed a petition launched by the Left-leaning paper a relentless chronicler of sex scandals that have been dogging Berlusconi for months after he said on a television broadcast that opposition deputy Rosy Bindi was prettier than she is intelligent. The remark,made in a telephone call to the show where Bindi,58,was a guest,was perceived as an insult aimed at contrasting her with a bevy of Right-wing ministers and deputies who entered politics after careers as television showgirls.
This man offends us,stop him, reads the petition for womens dignity that drew more than 98,000 signatures,according to La Repubblica.
Many women sent in messages,such as woman offended by a disappointing leader,we are not at your disposal,and this insult comes from a man who is more honest than intelligent. Bindis response Im not a woman at your disposal has become a rallying cry printed on T-shirts and placards.
Former Left-wing cabinet minister Giovanna Melandri said of the Prime Minister,reputedly self-conscious about his below-average height,that he is taller than he is polite.
By constantly putting the accent on the age of a woman,on her physical looks and not on her human qualities,theres a danger of going back to the time before feminism, said signatory Lidia Ravera,a prominent writer.
